Springboks face dilemma at No 8 as Jasper Wiese's suspension complicates Rugby Championship strategy

The Springboks ticked all the boxes in the recent internationals, with 46 players receiving game time over the course of the big wins against the Barbarians, Italy and Georgia.

Although the move to blood new players and combinations has bolstered South Africa’s depth across most departments, the situation at No 8 has been exacerbated by Jasper Wiese’s untimely four-match suspension. This much was confirmed on 23 July, when SA Rugby unveiled a 37-man squad for the first two matches of the Rugby Championship against the Wallabies. As things stand, there are no specialist No 8s in the group.

Jasper Wiese will miss the first three rounds of the southern hemisphere tournament, including the showdown with the All Blacks at Eden Park on 6 September. It’s a massive blow for the Boks, who are already without Elrigh Louw and Cameron Hanekom — two outstanding No 8s who have been sidelined with serious leg injuries in recent months.

The two matches against the Wallabies on 16 and 23 August should provide the Boks with an opportunity to settle on a back-row combination and rectify the breakdown issues that compromised their attacking momentum in recent fixtures.

Ultimately, coach Rassie Erasmus will want some answers regarding his best loose trio and No 8 option before the team departs for New Zealand.

Weighing up the options

Although the squad is devoid of specialists, several loose forwards have played No 8 before, for club and country.

Kwagga Smith and Jean-Luc du Preez have started there in the past and have played there for their respective clubs, the Shizuoka Blue Revs and the Sale Sharks.

Cobus Wiese — Jasper’s younger brother — has proved a valuable utility player over the years, alternating between lock and blindside flank for the Stormers, Sale and, more recently, the Bulls.

Erasmus raised a few eyebrows after he backed the younger Wiese to start at No 8 against Georgia in Mbombela. The Bok coach may persist with that experiment at some point over the next three Tests, even though Wiese has two caps to his name.

Stormers No 8 Evan Roos has been in and out of the Bok squad since making his de­­but in 2022. There has been plenty of debate around his aptitude for the position at Test level, and whether he is better suited to the openside flank position. The Boks have enough options at No 6 at present, given that World Cup winners such as Siya Kolisi, Smith and Marco van Staden are all fit and available.

Smith started at No 8 against the British & Irish Lions in the first Test of the 2021 series and was routinely exposed under the high ball.

When Jasper Wiese was ruled out of the big series against Ireland last year, Smith stepped into the breach and delivered a mixed showing across the two matches.

Perhaps those performances showed why Smith is less suited to a starting role, as opposed to being less suited to a role at No 8.

Over the past eight years, the quintessential utility player has been deployed at flank as well as No 8 in the closing stages of big Tests, as part of the Boks’ Bomb Squad strategy. Removing him from the bench may take away an essential ingredient from what is a potent and evidently successful formula.

Like Smith, Du Preez and Cobus Wiese cover multiple positions and are ideal Bomb Squad candidates. However, if they are to fill the void as the starting No 8, they will need to take on more specific roles at the kick-off, and on attack and defence.

Both have been retained for the Rugby Championship, which suggests that Erasmus has seen something he likes in their recent performances.

Back-row balance

Because of injuries and suspensions, the Boks haven’t been able to field their strongest back-row combination of Siya Kolisi, Pieter-Steph du Toit and Jasper Wiese over the past four matches.

Kolisi missed the first three matches because of minor neck and Achilles ailments, and Du Toit featured in the second Test against Italy and the one-off against Georgia, after returning from a lengthy injury layoff. Both players are short of a gallop at this level and may need an extended run over the next two Tests, before the intensity ramps up for the clash with the All Blacks.

These back-row selections will influence the call at No 8 — and it’s worth noting that Cobus Wiese played alongside Kolisi and Du Toit in the most recent battle against Georgia. If fit, Kolisi and Du Toit are likely to start in Auckland.

Although Kolisi has been used at No 8 by the Sharks in recent months, Erasmus has given the impression that the Bok captain will focus on the openside position while he is with the national side. Du Toit and Van Staden have also played No 8 at club level, but it would come as a surprise to see either of them starting there at Test level.

There are many reasons to be optimistic about the Boks’ title chances before the upcoming Rugby Championship, and in most departments Erasmus is spoiled for choice. How the Bok coaches solve the latest back-row puzzle, of course, may determine whether they realise all of their goals in the coming months, or fall agonisingly short. DM

Jon Cardinelli is a freelance writer.

This story first appeared in our weekly Daily Maverick 168 newspaper, which is available countrywide for R35.